Handling of livestock

ABSTRACT

A gate assembly for immobilising an animal comprises a frame with a door closable partially to fill the frame, the animal being trapped between the door and the frame. An elongate gate operating member extends rearwardly from the gate enabling a single person to operate the assembly.

United States Patent Maffey, Lord Rugby 51 May 27, 1975 [54] HANDLING OF LIVESTOCK [76] Inventor: Alan Loader Maffey, Lord Rugby,

The Grove Farm, Frankton, nr. Rugby, Warwickshire, England [22] Filed: Nov. 7, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 413,632

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 17, 1972 United Kingdom 53263/72 May 7, 1973 United Kingdom 21560/73 [52] U.S. Cl. 119/98 [51] Int. Cl A0lk l/06 [58] Field of Search 119/98, 99, 151, 155

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,861,546 ll/l958 Stroup 119/98 1/1961 Collins ll/l965 119/98 Trefz 1 19/99 Primary Examiner-Hugh R. Chamblee Attorney, Agent, or FirmEdwin E. Greigg [5 7 ABSTRACT A gate assembly for immobilising an animal comprises a frame with a door closable partially to fill the frame, the animal being trapped between the door and the frame. An elongate gate operating member extends rearwardly from the gate enabling a single person to operate the assembly.

11 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEB mama SHEET HANDLING OF LIVESTOCK This invention relates to the handling of livestock. It is an objective of the invention to provide an assembly whereby a single person can trap and temporarily immobilise an animal for the performance of an operation, such as marking or injection, and thereafter release the animal. Such an assembly is sometimes referred to as a cattle crush.

The invention provides a gate assembly for inserting into a gap providing an entrance or an exit to a pen. More especially the assembly is adopted for insertion into a gap between two pens, the gap providing an exit from the first and an entry to the second pen. The assembly provides a frame to fit into the gap and a door hinged about a vertical axis to provide a partial closure of the gap within which the animal is clamped. An elongate door-operating member fixedly or hingedly connected to the door about a line parallel to the closure axis extends away from the second pen. A barrier element, usually a frame structure can extend away from the second pen from a side upright of the first frame remote from the door hinge. This barrier element may form part of the assembly of the invention or as an alternative the barrier may be part of an existing struc ture.

In use the dooroperating member is pulled away from the second pen to open the gap between first and second pens. An animal driven or attracted to the second pen from the first pen approaches the gap. The door-operating member is pushed and the door pivots in the closure sense trapping the animal between the side of the door and the barrier element. The animal is immobilised and door-operating member is pivoted towards and attached to the barrier element with a securing element such as a rope or chain to leave the operator free to attend to the animal.

A particular embodiment of the invention and its operation will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembly in'accordance with the particular embodiment with the gate thereof in the open position;

FIG. 2 is a view, similar to FIG. 1, of the assembly with the gate in the closed position; and

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are diagrammatic plan views showing a cowman operating the assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 to immobilise a cow.

Referring initially to FIGS. l and 2 of the drawings the assembly illustrated therein is fabricated from steel tubing and includes a base 1 in the form of a right angled triangle. A post 2 upstands from the right angle of the base triangle and forms one side upright of a gate frame 3 and the front upright of a rearwardly extending side barrier frame 6. An openable gate 4 is dimensioned partially to close the space defined by frame 3, leaving a narrow rectangular space 5 (see FIG. 2) within which an animal can be trapped. The gate 4 has an upright hinge rod 7 received between sockets in the upper and lower elements of the frame 3 while the free side of the gate includes upper and lower latches 8 movable vertically between the protruding latching position illustrated and a retracted position. Means (not shown) are provided for biassing the latches to the protruding position. These latches 8 cooperate with upper and lower sockets 9 in the upper and lower members of the gate frame 3; ramps 22 serve automatically to retract latches 8 as the gate closes.

A gate operating element 10 comprises a U-shaped element 11 and a sleeve 12 extending vertically between the free ends of the U-shape. The sleeve 12 is pivotally received on a vertical part of the gate 4, so that the element 11 is pivotal about a vertical axis relatively to the door 4. A support leg 13 at the rear of the element lll has a castor 14 at the base thereof. A lanyard 15 for retracting the latches 8 against the bias is actuated by a handle 16 pivotally secured about a vertical axis between the limbs of element 11.

The side frame 6 comprises. the front post 2, a rear post 17, upper and lower parallel rails 18 and 19 and two intermediate parallel rails 20 in vertical register with the limbs of element 111. A hypotenuse rail 21 completes an upper frame. Cleats 23 are provided re spectively at the rear of the element 11 and the frame 6 and a chain 24 is provided for connecting the cleates and securing the gate operating member 10 and barrier frame 6 together.

The operation of the device by a cowman to move a cow from pen A to pen B will with intermediate immobilisation now be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 8.

As can be seen in FIG. 3 of the drawings the cow initially moves by instinct in the direction of arrow C to the clear gap (gate 4 being open) from pen A to pen B. As the animal approaches the gap, the cowman steers him into position by moving the operating member 10 so that the gate 4 gently pushes the neck of the animal forwardly as shown in FIG. 4. When the gate is moved to the closed position shown in FIG. 5 and latched, the cowman swings the member 10 toward the barrier frame 6. The chain 24 is fixed to secure member 10 and frame 6 together as shown in FIG. 6. The cow is trapped between registering parallel bars 20 and parallel limbs of element 11, and. the cowman performs whatever operation is necessary on the animal. The cowman then retracts the latches by operation of the handle 16 and pushes the gate 4 forwardly through the closed position as illustrated in FIG. 7. The cow moves in the direction of arrow D and leaves the frame; the cowman then swings the gate 4 backward as illustrated in FIG. 8 retracting the latches as the gate 4 passes through the central position.

In an alternative embodiment the operating member 10 is not hingedly connected to the gate 4, but is permanently fixed thereto so as to extend rearwardly at an angle of therefrom. This permits the sequence of operations shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 and FIG. 8 to be performed butidoes not allow movement of the device into the FIG. 7 position.

The assembly described above has, inter alia, the following advantages:

I. It can be operated by one man.

2. The animal enters the assembly voluntarily as it instinctively moves towards the gap between pens A and B.

3. The rails 19 and limbs of element 9 reatrain the animal firmly about its flanks in a manner such that the animal feels secure and cannot lash out sideways.

4. All parts of the animal when secured are visible and accessible.

5. The assembly can easily be folded flat for transportation and storage.

The present invention has been particularly described with the gate assembly in the gap between two pens. The assembly can however be placed in any location through which livestock is to be moved. Another such location is a cattle race which is an elongate corridor defined between two parallel fences. An animal can be immobilised within a race using an assembly in accordance with the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An assembly for immobilising an animal and for defining a gap, which may form anexit and/or an entrance to a pen, the assembly comprising, in combination, a frame insertable into said gap, through which the animal may pass, a gate in said frame hinged about a vertical axis and closable partially to close said gap to trap and immobilise an animal moving forwardly through said frame with its head clear of said gap and its shoulders in contact with said gate, operating means for said gate and means for securing said operating means in a position at least partially closing said gate and immobilising the animal with its head clear of said gap and its shoulders in contact with said gate.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for latching said gate in its closed position.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, including barrier means extending rearwardly from said frame, the animal being securable between said barrier means and said operating means.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said means for securing detachably connect parts at the rear of said barrier. means and said operating means.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, further including barrier means, and wherein said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said operating means comprises an elongate rearwardly extending element fixed to the said gate.

7. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said barrier means includes at least one horizontally extending rail at approximately hip-height on an animal to be placed in the assembly and said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate, said elongated element including at least one rail in vertical register with said rail of said barrier means.

8. An assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said rearwardly extending element is fixed to said gate at an angle of substantially 9. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, further including barrier means, and wherein said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate.

10. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate.

11. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate. 

1. An assembly for immobilising an animal and for defining a gap, which may form an exit and/or an entrance to a pen, the assembly comprising, in combination, a frame insertable into said gap, through which the animal may pass, a gate in said frame hinged about a vertical axis and closable partially to close said gap to trap and immobilise an animal moving forwardly through said frame with its head clear of said gap and its shoulders in contact with said gate, operating means for said gate and means for securing said operating means in a position at least partially closing said gate and immobilising the animal with its head clear of said gap and its shoulders in contact with said gate.
 2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for latching said gate in its closed position.
 3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, including barrier means extending rearwardly from said frame, the animal being securable between said barrier means and said operating means.
 4. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said means for securing detachably connect parts at the rear of said barrier means and said operating means.
 5. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, further including barrier means, and wherein said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate.
 6. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said operating means comprises an elongate rearwardly extending element fixed to the said gate.
 7. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said barrier means includes at least one horizontally extending rail at approximately hip-height on an animal to be placed in the assembly and said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate, said elongated element including at least one rail in vertical register with said rail of said barrier means.
 8. An assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said rearwardly extending element is fixed to said gate at an angle of substantially 90*.
 9. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, further including barrier means, and wherein said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate.
 10. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate.
 11. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said operating means comprises an elongate, rearwardly extending element hingedly connected, about a vertical axis, to said gate. 